Chapter 3

J. S. W.Stockwell, April 3. 1851.

Inscription on a Clock(Vol. iii., p. 329.).—The words written under the curious clock in Exeter Cathedral, about which your correspondent M. J. W. HEWETTinquires, and which are, or were, also to be found under the clock over the Terrace in the Inner Temple, London, are, in truth, a quotation from Martial; and it is singular that a sentiment so truly Christian should have escaped from the pen of a Pagan writer:

"They" (that is, the moments as they pass) "slip by us unheeded, but are noted in the account against us."

What could Chrysostom or Augustine have said strongeror better? The whole epigram is so good that I venture to transcribe it.

"AD MARTIALEM DE AGENDA VITA BEATA.

"Si tecum mihi, care Martialis,Securis liceat frui diebus,Si disponere tempus otiosum,Et veræ pariter vacare vitæ,Nec nos atria, nec domos potentum,Nec lites tetricas, forumque tristeNôssemus, nec imagines superbas:Sed gestatio, fabulæ, libelli,Campus, porticus, umbra, virgo, thermæ;Hæc essent loca semper, hi labores.Nunc vivit sibi neuter, heu! bonosqueSoles effugere atque abire sentit;Qui nobisPEREUNT,ET IMPUTANTUR.Quisquam vivere cum sciat, moratur?"Lib. v. ep. 20.

"Si tecum mihi, care Martialis,

Securis liceat frui diebus,

Si disponere tempus otiosum,

Et veræ pariter vacare vitæ,

Nec nos atria, nec domos potentum,

Nec lites tetricas, forumque triste

Nôssemus, nec imagines superbas:

Sed gestatio, fabulæ, libelli,

Campus, porticus, umbra, virgo, thermæ;

Hæc essent loca semper, hi labores.

Nunc vivit sibi neuter, heu! bonosque

Soles effugere atque abire sentit;

Qui nobisPEREUNT,ET IMPUTANTUR.

Quisquam vivere cum sciat, moratur?"

Lib. v. ep. 20.

W.[2]

[2]We are indebted to several other correspondents for similar replies to this Query; and one, A. C. W., remarks that the epigram from which these lines are quoted, is thus translated by Cowley:

"Now to himself, alas! does neither live,But sees good suns, of which we are to giveA strict account, set and march thick away:Knows a man how to live, and does he stay?"

"Now to himself, alas! does neither live,

But sees good suns, of which we are to give

A strict account, set and march thick away:

Knows a man how to live, and does he stay?"

Authors of the Anti-Jacobin Poetry(Vol. iii., p. 348.).—I knewallthe writers, some of them intimately; and I have no doubt of the general accuracy of MR.HAWKIN'Scommunication. The items marked B are the least to be relied on. I do not think Mr. Hammond, then Canning's colleague as Under-Secretary of State, wrote a line, certainly not of verse, though he no doubt assisted his friend in compiling, and perhaps correcting; good offices, which obtained him an honourablenichein the counter-satire issued from Brooke's, and preserved from oblivion by having been reprinted in theAnti-Jacobinto give more poignancy to Canning's reply, "Bard of the borrowed lyre," &c.

The Latin verses "Ipsa mali Hortatrix" were thesoleproduction of Lord Wellesley, and he reprinted them a year or two before his death; Mr. Frere had no share in them: but, on the other hand, Mr. Frere may have been, and I think was, the author of thetranslation, "Parent of countless crimes." Lord Wellesley certainly was not; for it was made after he had sailed for India.

With regard to Mr. Wright's appropriation of particular passages of the longer poems to different authors, it is obviously impossible that it should be more than a vague conjecture. Iknowthat both Canning and Gifford professednotto be able to make any such distribution; but both left on my mind the impression that Canning's share of the "New Morality" was so very much the largest as to entitle him to be considered its author. Ought not Canning's verses to be collected?

"Felix, quem faciunt," &c.(Vol. iii., p. 373.).—Though I cannot refer EFFIGIESto the original author of this passage, the following parallels may not be unacceptable to him:

"Felix, quem faciunt aliorum cornua cautum,Sæpe suo, cœlebs dixit Acerra, patri."Joannis Audoeni,Epigr. 147. Lib. i. (nat. circa 1600.)

"Felix, quem faciunt aliorum cornua cautum,

Sæpe suo, cœlebs dixit Acerra, patri."

Joannis Audoeni,Epigr. 147. Lib. i. (nat. circa 1600.)

Again:

"Felix, quicunque doloreAlterius disces posse carere tuo."Tibul. lib. iii. 6. 43.

"Felix, quicunque dolore

Alterius disces posse carere tuo."

Tibul. lib. iii. 6. 43.

It is remarkable that the annotator on this passage in the Delphin ed., Paris, 1685, p. 327., quotes the line in question thus: "Consonat illud: Felix quem faciunt," &c.,without giving the authority.

Again:

"Periculum ex aliis facere, tibi quod ex usu siet."—Ter.Heaut.i. 2. 36. (Not 25., as in the DelphinIndex.)

"Periculum ex aliis facere, tibi quod ex usu siet."—

Ter.Heaut.i. 2. 36. (Not 25., as in the DelphinIndex.)

Again:

"Feliciter is sapit, qui periculo alieno sapit."

This passage is assigned to Plautus in theSyllogeof Petrus Lagnerius, Francf. 1610, p. 312., but I cannot find it in this author.

C. H. P.Brighton, May 12. 1851.

Perhaps it is hardly an answer to EFFIGIESto tell him that the earliest occurrence of this line, with which I am acquainted, is in a rebus beneath the device of the Parisian printer, Felix Balligault, about the year 1496. Thus:

"Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.Felici monumenta die felicia felixPressit: et hæc vicii dant retinentve nihil."

"Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum.

Felici monumenta die felicia felix

Pressit: et hæc vicii dant retinentve nihil."

The device is a fruit-tree, from which a shield is suspended inscribedfelix. Two apes are seated at the foot of the tree. The thought is, however, common to the wise and the witty of every age. Menander has it thus:—

"Βλέπων πεπαίδευμ᾽ εἰς τὰ τῶν ἄλλων κακά."

And Plautus:

"Feliciter sapit qui alieno periculum sapit."

Compare Terence,Heaut.i. 2. 36.:

"Periculum et aliis facere, tibi quod ex usu siet."

And Diodorus Siculus, i. ab init.:

"Καλὸν γὰρ τὸ δύνασθαι τοῖς τῶν ἄλλων ἀγνοήμασι πρὸς διόρθωσιν χρῆσθαι παραδείγμασι."

And Tibullus, lib. iii. eleg. vi.:

"Felix, quicunque doloreAlterius disces posse carere tuo."

"Felix, quicunque dolore

Alterius disces posse carere tuo."

These indications may perhaps put your correspondent in the way of a more satisfactory answer to his question.

S.W. SINGER.

Church Bells(Vol. iii., p. 339.).—Should the following extract from Mr. Fletcher'sNotes on Ninevehhave escaped the notice of MR. GATTY, it may probably interest him:—

"Duringthe following (12th) century Dionysius Bar Salibi occupied the (Jacobite) patriarchal throne, a man noted for piety and learning. He composed several works on theological subjects, among which we find a curious disquisition on bells, the invention of which he ascribes to Noah. He mentions that several histories record a command given to that patriarch to strike on the bell with a piece of wood three times a day, in order to summon the workmen to their labour while he was building the ark. And this he seems to consider the origin of church bells, an opinion which, indeed, is common to other Oriental writers."—Vol. ii. p. 212.

E. H. A.

Chiming, Tolling, and Pealing(Vol. iii., p. 339.).—Though the following has not, I fear,canonicalauthority, nor is it ofremoteantiquity, still, as they are not lines of yesterday, they may serve as one Reply to MR. GATTY'Slate Query onChiming, tolling, and pealing:—

"To call the folk to church in timeWechime,When joy and mirth are on the wingWering,When we mourn a departed soulWetoll."

"To call the folk to church in time

Wechime,

When joy and mirth are on the wing

Wering,

When we mourn a departed soul

Wetoll."

I think it probable (though I have no direct proof of it) that the great bell, or tenor, was alwaysRUNGwhen a sermon was to bepreached, which was not the case when there was to be only prayers. I believe it is so at this day at St. Mary's, Oxford; it is very certain that the great bell, being so rung, is in some places called theSermonBell, though I remember two legends on tenor bells, which seem to imply that they were intended to call to prayers, viz.:—

"Come when I call,To serve God all.""For Christ, his flock, I aloud do call,To confess their sins, and be pardoned all."

"Come when I call,

To serve God all."

"For Christ, his flock, I aloud do call,

To confess their sins, and be pardoned all."

The difference between ringing the tenor (or any bell for prayers), and ringing it as a knell, is, that in the latter case the bell is set at every pull or stroke, which causes a solemnity in the sound very different from that produced by the very reverse mode of ringing it. Oh! what language there is in bells. Inringing, the bell is swung round; intolling, it is swung merely sufficiently for the clapper to strike the side.Chimingis when more bells than one aretolledin harmony; if this be correct, totollcan be applied only whenonebell is sounded, and Horne Tooke's definition of the word, fromtollere, toraise up, must be wrong (humiliter loquor).

With regard to the present use of the old Sanctus Bell, which is called at EcclesfieldTom Tinkler, the same is often called theTing Tang.

H. T. ELLACOMBE.Clyd St. George.

Extraordinary North Briton(Vol. iii., p. 409.).—In answer to the inquiries of the reviewer in theAthenæumof May 17, and your correspondent, the writer of theExtraordinary North Britonappears to have been an individual of the name of William Moore, not, as apparently supposed, the poet William Mason. I have, amongst a complete series of the London newspapers of the day, a set of theExtraordinary North Briton, beginning Tuesday (May 10, 1768) and terminating with the 91st No. (Saturday, January 27, 1770). Whether it was continued further I do not know. The early numbers are published by Staples Steare, 93. Fleet Street, and the subsequent ones by T. Peat, 22. Fleet Street, and by William Moore, 55., opposite Hatton Garden, Holborn. The second and subsequent numbers are entitled,The Extraordinary North Briton, by W—— M——. In the last three numbers the W—— M—— is altered to William Moore, and at the end of each is "London, printed and sold by the author, W. Moore, No. 22., near St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street." In the 90th number is the following advertisement:

"Mr. Moore thinks it highly incumbent on him to acquaint the public, that Thomas Brayne (who was his shopman all last winter) is now publishing a spurious paper under the same title in Holborn; that they may not be deceived, Mr. Moore's name will be in front of every paper he writes. He begs leave further to add, that Brayne sold several papers last week in his name, and told those who purchased them, that they were wrote by Mr. Moore, and that he published for him. In order that the public may not be deceived by such low artifice, an affidavit of Brayne's proceedings in this respect, will appear in the public papers some time next week."

I have also the papers published by Brayne, which are advertised at the end to be "Printed and Published by T. Brayne, No. 55., opposite Hatton Garden, Holborn."

I have referred to No. 4, for Friday, June 3, 1768, addressed to Lord Mansfield, noticed in theAthenæum; but, with all due respect to the opinion of the reviewer, I cannot see the slightest similitude to the style of Junius. It appears to me to be a very feeble performance, and by a very inferior person. Indeed, the entire series of theExtraordinary North Britonseems poor and flat when compared with its predecessor, the original and famousNorth Briton.

The attempt to show Mason to be Junius is amusing and ingenious; but the reviewer has evidently failed in persuading himself, and therefore, amidst the many startling improbabilities by which such an attempt is encompassed, is scarcely likely to gain many converts to such a theory.

JAMESCROSSLEY.

Fitzpatrick's Lines on Fox.—MR. MARKLAND, in your78th Number (p. 334.), asks the true reading ofthe third line.—The word should be "mind," not "course."

The lines are under the engraved bust of Fox, prefixed to the edition, in elephant folio, of hisHistory of the early Part of the Reign of James II., and the word there given is "course." In my copy of that work is inserted a letter from Miller, the publisher, to a deceased friend of mine, who was an original subscriber at "Five Guineas, boards!"

That letter, so far as is material, is as follows:—

"The error in the engraving of the writing was certainly a very bad one, and not to be remedied, but it is a satisfaction to me that it was Lord Holland's mistake and not mine. I have his lordship's original writing of the four lines to clear myself. W. Miller, Albemarle Street, June 6, 1808."

Q. D.

Ejusdem Farinæ(Vol. iii., p. 278..).—This phrase was used in a disparaging sense long before the time of the "scholastic doctors and casuists of the middle ages," as may appear from Persius, v. 115-117., where he is showing that an elevation in rank does not necessarily produce a more elevated tone of mind; and says to an imaginary upstart:

"Sin tu, cum fuerisnostræpaulò antèfarinæ,Pelliculam veterem retines, et fronte politusAstutam vapido servas sub pectore vulpem," &c.

"Sin tu, cum fuerisnostræpaulò antèfarinæ,

Pelliculam veterem retines, et fronte politus

Astutam vapido servas sub pectore vulpem," &c.

It is needless to add that the metaphor is taken from loaves made from the "same batch" of flour, where, if one be bad, all the others must be equally so.

J. EASTWOOD.Ecclesfield Hall.

Stephens, in hisThesaurus, under the head of "Farinæ," states—

"Proverbiales locutiones sunt, Ejusdem Farinæ, Nostræ farinæ,"

but makes no allusion to its being a term expressive of baseness and disparagement. Nor does it seem to be so used by Persius in v. 115. of his 5th Satire:

"Si tu, cum fueris nostræ paulò antè farinæ."

We employ a somewhat similar expression, when we say, "both of the same kidney."

C. I. R.

This expression may be traced beyond "the scholastic doctors and casuists of the middle ages." Erasmus, in hisAdagia, says,—

"Ejusdem farinæ dicuntur, inter quos est indiscreta similitudo. Quod enim aqua ad aquam collata, idem ad farinam farinæ. Persius in 5 Satyr.

"'Nostræ paulò antè farinæ,Pelliculam veterem retines.'"

"'Nostræ paulò antè farinæ,

Pelliculam veterem retines.'"

And again, on the proverb "Omnia idem pulvis," he says,—

"Quin nobis omnia idem, quod aiunt, pulvis: alludens ad defunctorum cineres, inter quos nibil apparet discriminis. Confine illi quod alio demonstravimus proverbio, ejusdem farinæ. Siquidem antiqui farinam pollinem vocabant."

Is. Casaubon, in a note on the above passage of Persius, says,—

"Proverbium Latinum ad notandum similitudinem, 'est ejusdem farinæ,' proprie locum habet in panibus."

Though the expression is generally, if not always, used disparagingly, as the corresponding expressions "birds of a feather" and "of the same kidney," yet I should doubt whether the term "farinæ" is itself expressive of baseness, any more than "feather" or "kidney." By the way, what is the origin of the latter of the above expressions?

E. S. T. T.

The Sempecta(Vol. iii., pp. 328.357..)—I have to return many thanks to DR. MAITLANDfor his kindness in so promptly answering my Query. The reference to Martene has enabled me to find the poem in question. It is in Martene and Durand'sThesaurus novus Anecdotorum, Paris, 1717; and will be found in vol. iii. col. 1333. The poem forms caput iii. of the second book of theHistoria Monasterii Villariensis in Brabantiâ, ordinis Cisterciensis(a title which shows the monastery to which the old soldier-monk belonged instead of Croyland), and is headed "Incipit vita beati Franconis." I think there are few of your readers who will not thank me for calling their attention to it, if they will take the trouble to refer to Martene's work.

H. R. LUARD.Trin. Coll. May 5.

"Nulli fraus tuta latebris"(Vol. iii., p. 323.) will be found inCamerar. Emblem., cent. ii. 40.

Q. Q.

Voltaire—where situated(Vol. iii., p. 329.).—If the Querist will look to theCritical Essays of an Octogenarian, by J. R. (the learned, venerable, and respected James Roche, Esq., of Cork), he will find, at p. 11. vol. i., that there is no such place, the word "Voltaire" being merely a transposition of the name of the party assuming it as a designation. Thus, he was calledArouet Le Jeune. Transpose the letters ofArouet L. J., and allowingj,uandi,vto be used for each other, you haveVoltaire.

By the Bye(Vol. ii., p. 424.;Vol. iii., p. 109.).—In further illustration of this phrase, I would advert to the practice of declaring by the bye, which prevailed in the superior courts of common law, before the Uniformity of Process Act (2 Will. IV., c. 39.). The following extract from Burton'sExchequer Practice, 1791, vol. i. p. 149., will sufficiently explain this happily obsolete matter:—

"By the old rules it is ordered, 'That upon every defendant's appearance, the plaintiff may put in as many declarations as he will against every such defendant, provided they all be put in at one and the same time.' If there be more than one declaration delivered at the same time against the same defendant, every additionaldeclaration so delivered is called delivering the declaration by the bye."

In the King's Bench, in certain cases, any other plaintiff could declare by the bye against the defendant, and that even before the original plaintiffs had declared. See Crompton'sPractice Common-placed, 2nd ed., 1783, vol. i. p. 100.

The Doctor(in chap. cx.) says—

"By the bye, which is the same thing, in common parlance, as by the way, though critically there may seem to be a difference; for by the bye might seem to denote a collateral remark, and by the way a direct one."

By the bye, what a pity it is there is no Index toThe Doctor.

C. H. COOPER.Cambridge, March 24, 1851.

Bigod de Loges(Vol. iii., p. 306.).—There is an error, perhaps a clerical one, in M. J. T.'s statement, that "Bigod, whose name was attached to the charter of foundation of St. Werburgh's Abbey, is elsewhere, according to Ormerod, called Robert."

The remark is by Leycester, not Ormerod, and the purport is exactly the converse. To the words "Signum Roberti de Loges" is added, "alii Bigot de Loges hic legunt." VideMonasticon, pars I., pp. 200. 202.

This passage will be found in Leycester'sAntiquities, p. 111., reprinted inHist. Chesh., vol. i. p. 13. But Leycester'sProlegomenais the heading, and the initials "P. L." are appended to the note.

LANCASTRIENSIS.

Knebsend or Nebsend, co. York(Vol. iii., p. 263.).—A part of Sheffield is called Neepsend, which is probably the place inquired after by J. N. C., especially as the ordinary pronunciation of it isNepsend.

J. EASTWOOD.

Mrs. Catherine Barton(Vol. iii., p. 328.).—Your correspondent will find all that is known in Sir David Brewster'sLife of Newton, and will see (p. 323.) that her maiden name must have been either Smith, Pilkington, or Barton itself.

Peter Sterry(Vol. iii., p. 38.).—In the title-page to his sermon, preached before the Parliament, Nov. 1, 1649 (Lond. 1650, 4to.), Sterry is called "sometime Fellow of Emanuel College, Cambridge; now a Preacher of the Gospel in London." Some account of him may be seen in Burnet'sHistory of his own Time; and in theMemoirs of Edmund Ludlow. Wood says that Peter Sterry was notorious "for keeping on that side which had proved trump" (Athenæ, iii. 197., edit. Bliss).

EDWARDF. RIMBAULT.

Wife of James Torre(Vol. iii., p. 329.).—In reply to MR. PEACOCK'SQuery I beg to inform him that the lady's name was Elizabeth, youngest of the four daughters and co-heiresses of William Lincolne, D.D., of Bottesford, and by her Mr. Torre had several children, all of whom died young except Jane, who married, in 1701, the Rev. Thomas Hassel. This is taken from Burke'sDictionary of Landed Gentry, vol. ii, M to Z, published by Colburn, London, 1847, where the Torre pedigree can be seen, but no other mention of theLincolnefamily is there made. There are seven different coats of arms and crests under the nameLincolnein Burke'sArmory of England, Scotland, and Ireland, published by Churton in 1843. This is all I can find at present.

J. N. C.

Ramasse(Vol. iii., p. 347.).—One word to complete MR. WAY'Sexplanation. This style of sliding down the slopes of the Alps is called aramasse, because the guides are ready below toramasser, that is, topick up, the travellers who are thus sent down.

This word is by no means obsolete in France, in the acceptation of "a sledge." In addition to the instances given from Barré and Roquefort by MR. ALBERTWAY, in his instructive note on the "Pilgrymage of Syr R. Guylforde, Knyght," I find in Napoléon Landais'Dictionnaire général et grammatical des Dictionnaires Français," the following explanation:—

"RAMASSE, chaise à porteurs, traîneau pour descendre des montagnes où il y a de la neige:descendre une montagne dans une ramasse."

He also says, in defining the meaning of the verb "ramasser:"

"Traîner dans uneramasse: on le ramassa pendant deux heures; quand il fut sur la montagne, il se fit ramasser."

The late Mr. Tarver, in hisDictionnaire Phraséologique Royal, has also the following:

"RAMASSE, s. f. (t. de voyageur), sledge.

"On le ramassa, they conveyed him in a sledge.

"RAMASSEUR, a man who drives a sledge."

D. C.St. John's Wood, May 4. 1851.

Four Want Way(Vol. iii., p. 168.).—Halliwell describes the word "want" as meaning in Essex a cross-road. It is still used here as denoting a place where four roads meet, and called "a four want way." I always fancied it meant a wont way,via solita; but I have no authority for the etymology.

BRAYBROOKE.Audley End.

["Went" is used in Chaucer in the sense of "way," "passage," "turning," or road: thus, inTroilus and Creseide, iii. 788., he speaks of a "a privie went," and v. 605., "And up and doun there made he many a went;" and in theHouse of Fame:

"And in a forrest as they went,At the tourning of a went."]

"And in a forrest as they went,

At the tourning of a went."]

Dr. Owen's Works(Vol. i., p. 276.).—The editor of theWorks of John Owenis informed, that in the valuable library of George Offor, Esq., of Hackney, will be found a thick volume in manuscript of unpublishedSermons on the Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah, in the Doctor's own hand-writing, and apparently prepared for publication. The same library also contains two scarce pieces by Dr. Owen, which it is thought have never been reprinted: 1.The Stedfastness of Promises, and the Sinfulness of Staggering, opened in a sermon preached at Margaret's, in Westminster, before the Parliament, Feb. 28, 1649, being a Day set apart for Solemn Humiliation throughout the Nation. By John Owen, Minister of the Gospel. London, 1650. 4to. pp. 54.—2.God's Work in Founding Zion, and his People's Duty thereupon.A Sermon preached in the Abbey Church at Westminster, at the opening of the Parliament, Sept. 17, 1656. By John Owen, a Servant of Jesus Christ in the Work of the Gospel. Oxford, 1656. 4to. pp. 48.

J. Y.Hoxton.

Bactrian Coins(Vol. iii., p. 353.).—Has your correspondent read the book by MassonOn the Coins, &c. of Afghanistan, published by Professor H. H. Wilson? There are also references to authorities in HumphreysOn Ancient Coins and Medals.

C. B.

Bactria.—BLOWENwill find some trustworthy information respecting Bactria in Professor Lassen'sIndische Alterthumskunde, Zweiter Band, pp. 277. et seq. Bonn, 1849; and a list of authorities on the Græco-Bactrian coins in the same work, pp. 282. 283. (notes).

C. H.

Baldrocks(Vol. iii., p. 328.).—On looking over a vestry book belonging to South Lynn in this town, commencing at 1605, and ending in 1677, I find some Churchwardens' Accounts, and amongst them the two following entries, which may, I trust, assist "A CHURCHWARDEN," and lead to an elucidation of this word:—

"1610."Janua. 17. fforaballedrickto yegreat Bell, xxid."1618."Novemb. 22. Item. formendine of yebalderickefor yefoore bell, vjd."

From these entries it seems that the "baldrock" was something attached to the great bell.

In most of the recent English Dictionaries the word is applied to furniture, and to a belt or girdle. But in a Latin Dictionary published at Cambridge in 1693, I find in the Anglo-Latin part the following:—

English. A bawdrick of a bell clapper.Latin. Ropali corrigia.

And the English of "Ropali Corrigia" seems (notwithstanding the English version given with it) to be "pieces of leather," or "thongs of leather" to the bell clapper, but for what purpose used I do not know.

JOHNNURSECHADWICK.

P.S. The word "corrigia" is taken from the word "corium," a skin of leather.

[Were not these leather coverings?—that for the rope, to prevent its cutting the ringer's hands (as we constantly see), and also to prevent his hand slipping; and that for the clapper, to muffle it—straps of leather girded round them.]

Tu Autem(Vol. iii., pp. 265.308.).—The "Tu Autem," still remembered at Oxford and Cambridge, and yet lingering at the public dinners of the canons of Durham, is the last fragment of what was once a daily, or at least an almost daily, religious form or service at those ancient places; and it is rather strange that such a fragment should have remained so long in the collegiate and cathedral refectory without having preserved any remembrance of its real origin and meaning. If Bishop Hendren or Father Holdfast would forego their favourite pursuits for a few minutes, and look into your interesting and improving miscellany, they might inform you that in the Romish Breviary—which, no doubt, has preserved many ancient religious services—there is a form entitledBenedictio mensæ. As the generality of your readers may not have the Breviary at hand, I send you so much of the service as may suffice for the present purpose.

"BENEDICTIO MENSÆ.

"Ante prandium Sacerdos benedicturus mensam, incipit, Benedicite,et alii repetunt, Benedicite.Deinde dicitOculi omnium,et alii prosequuntur. In te sperant, Domine, et tu das escam illorum in tempore opportuno" &c. &c. Then "Gloria Patri" &c., and "Pater noster" &c. &c.

"Posteà Sacerdos dicit:

"Oremus.

"Benedic Domine nos, et hæc tua dona, quæ de tua largitate sumus sumpturi. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

"Deinde Lector.Jube Domine benedicere.Benedictio.Mensæ cœlestis participes faciat nos Rex æternæ gloriæ. Amen.

"Post prandium aguntur gratiæ hoc modo. Dicto à Lectore, Tu autem Domine miserere nobis. Deo gratias,omnes surgunt.

"Sacerdos incipit.Confiteantur tibi Domine omnia opera tua. Et Sancti tui benedicant tibi. Gloria Patri, &c.

"Posteà Sacerdos absolutè dicat:Agimus tibi gratias, omnipotens Deus, pro universis beneficiis tuis, &c.

"Deinde alternatim dicitur Psalmus.Miserere mei Deus.

"Vel Psalmus 116." (in our version, 117.), &c. &c. &c.

The service then proceeds with very much repetition. The performance of the whole would probably occupy twenty minutes.

I mustnote that there are variations in the service depending upon the season, &c. &c.

I have indicated therubricof the Breviary byItalics.

J. YALC.Preston, Lanc.

Commoner marrying a Peeress(Vol. ii., p. 230.).—Your correspondent L. R. N. inquires whether there is any decision subsequent to that in the reign of Henry VIII. on the claim to the Taylboys barony, respecting the right of a Commoner marrying a peeress to assume her title and dignity, he having issue male by her. In reply I beg to inform him that there appears to have been one on the claim of Richard Bertie, in 1580, to the Barony of Willoughby, in right of his wife Catherine Duchess of Suffolk, as tenant by the curtesy, which was rejected, and Peregrine Bertie her son was admitted in the lifetime of his father. It seems, however, from the want of modern instances, as also by the elevation of ladies to the rank of peeresses, with remainders to their children, thus enabling the issue to sit in the lifetime of the father, that the prevailing notion is against curtesy in titles of honour. This subject will be found treated at some length in Cruise'sDigest, vol. iii. pp. 187, 188. 198. ed. 1818.

O. S.

Ancient Wood Engraving(Vol. iii., p. 277.).—The subject of THEHERMIT OFHOLYPORT'Squestion is an engraving of the "Pinax" of Cebes, a Theban philosopher who wrote circa A. M. 3600, and who, in his allegorical work of that name, described human life under the guise of a picture.

This information is for the HERMIT'Sespecial benefit, as I suppose it will be old news to most of your correspondents.

I have an old Dutch edition of the "Pinax" (Gerard de Jager, 1683), bound in vellum, with theEnchiridionand other works of Epictetus; the frontispiece of which is the fellow to the Hermit's engraving.

F. I.Bradford.

Vegetating Insects(Vol. iii., p. 166.).—As the Query of MR. MANLEYin No. 70. has not been answered, I beg to say that Vegetating Insects are not uncommon both in New South Wales and New Zealand. The insect is the caterpillar of a large brown moth, and in New South Wales is sometimes found six inches long, buried in the ground, and the plant above ground about the same length: the top, expanded like a flower, has a brown velvety texture. In New Zealand theplantis different, being a single stem from six to ten inches high: its apex, when in a state of fructification, resembles the club-headed bulrush in miniature. When newly dug up, and divided longitudinally, the intestinal canal is distinctly visible, and frequently the hairs, legs, and mandibles. Vegetation invariably proceeds from the nape of the neck; from which it may be inferred, that the insect, in crawling to the place where it inhumes itself, prior to its metamorphosis, while burrowing in the light vegetable soil, gets some of the minute seeds of the fungus between the scales of its neck, from which in its sickening state it is unable to free itself, and which consequently, being nourished by the warmth and moisture of the insect's body then lying motionless, vegetates, and not only impedes the process of change in the chrysalis, but likewise occasions the death of the insect. The New South Wales specimen is called "Sphæria Innominata," that of New Zealand "Sphæria Robertsii;" both named, I believe, by Sir W. J. Hooker. In some specimens of the New Zealand kind now before me, thebodiesof the insects are in their normal state, but the legs, &c., are gone.

Both specimens are figured and described in theTasmanian Journal, vol. i. No. 4.

VIATOR.Chatham.

Prayer at the Healing(Vol. iii., p. 352.).—N. E. R. inquires whether this prayer found a place in the prayer-books printed at Oxford or Cambridge.

I have it before me in the folio Book of Common Prayer, "Oxford, printed by John Baskett, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, and to the University, MDCCXV." It is placed between the form of prayer for Aug. 1. (the King's Accession) and the King's Declaration preceding the Articles.

This form differs from that given by Sparrow, in hisCollection, edit. 1684, p. 165., as follows:—

Sparrow givestwoGospels: Mark, xvi. 14., St. John, i. 1., the imposition of the King's hands taking place at the words "they shall lay," &c. in the reading of the first, and the gold being placed at reading the words "that light" in the second.

In Baskett's form, thefirstGospel only is used, with the collect "Prevent us, O Lord," before it.

In Baskett's form, the supplicatory versicles and Lord's Prayer, which agree in their own order with the earlier form,followthis first Gospel, andprecede the imposition and the suspension of the gold, during which (it is directed) the chaplain that officiates,turning himself to his Majesty, shall say these words following:

"God give a blessing to this work, and grant that these sick persons, on whom the king lays his hands, may recover through Jesus Christ our Lord."

This doesnotappear in Sparrow's form of 1684,neitherdoes the following address, at the close, by the "chaplain,standing with his face towards them that come to be healed."

"The Almighty God, who is a most strong tower to all them that put their trust in Him, to whom all things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth do bow and obey, be now and evermore your defence, and makeyou know and feel that there is none other Name under heaven given to man, in whom, and through whom, you may receive health and salvation, but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."

Objectionable as the ceremony was, there can be no doubt that a much more Protestant character was given to it by these alterations.

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